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If You're Game, We'll PlayFri, 22 Sep 2017 01:18:17 +0000en-AUhourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.18Guest blog: Novels Versus Interactive Novels, by Felicity Bankshttp://gamesvsplay.com/guest-blog-novels-versus-interactive-novels-by-felicity-banks/
http://gamesvsplay.com/guest-blog-novels-versus-interactive-novels-by-felicity-banks/#commentsFri, 22 Sep 2017 01:18:17 +0000http://gamesvsplay.com/?p=2089In this guest blog Games vs Play welcomes back Felicity Banks, author of The Antipodean Queen series of novels and acclaimed interactive fiction including Choices: And the Sun Went Out. This post first appeared on Felicity’s blog, which you can read here.

Story by Felicity Banks

I write both novels and interactive novels, and I’m fascinated by the style differences between the two. This is how fascinated I am:

When I write novels, I often write in first person (“I don’t deliberately make things explode”), and sometimes third person (“She doesn’t deliberately make things explode”). It is extremely rare to find a published novel written in second person (“You don’t deliberately make things explode”). Most people find second person very jarring. The famous exception are Choose Your Own Adventure novels, and I’ve seen a couple of modern children’s books written in second person.

The great thing about first person is that it’s easy to use a quirky writing style, and to see inside the main character’s head. In my opinion, it’s particularly good for young adult or crossover writing, when internal thoughts are often an important part of the plot. On the down side, you can’t see the thought processes of other characters, or any information the main character doesn’t know (such as, there is a bushfire coming).

Second person is favoured by a lot of interactive fiction, because it emphasises the reader’s involvement in the story. It’s also common to have a different style for the text of the choices themselves. For example, Choice of Games uses second person for the main text, and first person for the choices (which is reversed in the Tin Man Games “Choices That Matter” serial story app).

The overwhelming majority of novels use past tense (“Quit it!” said Bob), but quite a few interactive novels use present tense (“Quit it!” says Bob). When I’m writing a first draft, regardless of the form, I tend to switch back and forth between the two, which is always the most obvious thing I have to fix when I edit. It’s never okay to release a story like that.

This blog entry is in present tense. It feels more immediate to the reader—more like a face to face conversation. That’s useful for interactive fiction, which is a more conversational reading experience than novels. Quite a lot of writers fall into present tense in a first draft (whether they mean to or not) because they’re watching their own story as it happens in their head.

A story in its simplest form involves an interesting character with a serious problem who faces obstacles and then either succeeds or fails in solving their problem. The crucial structural elements are:

2. What is the problem? It needs to be serious to the character, so it can be as simple as being thirsty or as complicated as saving the universe.

3. What are the obstacles? They need to appear unsurmountable, and costly. The most difficult part is often having the character attempt to solve the problem in a way that should work (so the character doesn’t come across as an idiot) but instead backfires (raising the tension in the story). It’s a tricky balance.

4. An ending must feel satisfying, even if the character fails or the problem has grown worse.

There are plenty of other elements to the story—worldbuilding, themes, scenery, subplots, etc etc—and of course other characters. The greatest difference between a novel and an interactive novel is #1. The main character of a book is entirely under the writers’ control. They grow and change during the story. A crucial issue for any interactive fiction writer is how to make an interesting main character while also giving the reader control over the story. Often the solution is to make the main character a “Blank Slate”, an effect that works very much like a prototypical “Mary Sue”. That is, the reader can project their own personality onto the character.

Companies like Choice of Games work hard to allow the reader to fill in the blanks—choosing their own gender, sexuality, personality, and even the type of story. A single story with the same general ending can tell multiple stories eg a story ending with a prom can be a romance (the main character gets the girl/guy), horror (like Carrie), action (like Buffy), or tragedy (the main character doesn’t get the girl/guy) depending largely on the climactic scene. This means the writer needs to be able to think of their own main character and plot in several contradictory ways, and write their scenes accordingly.

A good interactive story writer also needs to think about the tangled fictional ethics of non-player characters. This is especially true in stories with a romance. Most interactive stories offer several romantic options, which immediately begs the question, “How are so many different people all attracted to one person? And is everybody bi?” NPCs really ARE just pieces on a board designed to make the player feel good, but good writing makes them feel like living, breathing individuals.

In the Dream Daddy dating simulator one of the potential romances is doomed no matter what the player does. This is frustrating to experience, but also makes the game more satisfying, because—as the creators point out—not all romances end well.

Some writers use statistics to block or allow romance, eg Kevin is only attracted to players who have shown high levels of empathy. Others have different sexuality for different NPCs, eg Kevin can only fall for male characters. That can be problematic, because far too much entertainment is pitched to a straight male setting. In my opinion, it’s better to have all bisexual NPCs than to give players less choices based on their gender.

The other tricky style element of interactive fiction is the dreaded “block of text”. In general, interactive fiction writers often aim for less than 300 words between choices. That means long passages of description or dialogue are a no-no. There are always exceptions to the rule, but in general readers want a LOT of choices, and will get bored with lengthy prose (no matter how beautiful or profound). IF can be beautiful and profound, but it needs to use less words to do so (or to use the same number of words, but break up paragraphs with choices).

The experience of reading an interactive novel is both more and less involving than reading a book. As an interactive fiction reader, you can have a huge amount of control over the story—who to love, who to kill, what to learn and how to use your skills—but you are also constantly breaking the fourth wall as you pause to consider your choices along the way. I tend to read non-interactive novels at night, because the decision-making process of reading IF is too stressful.

Whether you’re writing, reading, or playing … good luck!

The second novel in Felicity Banks’s Antipodean Queen trilogy, Silver and Stone, will be released in print and digital formats on October 1 2017. Available on Amazon, Kobo, etc and through bookshops or directly through the publisher. Her first book in the series, Heart of Brass, is here, and her interactive fiction is listed here.

Image sources: Photo of Felicity Banks, Choices That Matter logo and cover art for Heart of Brass supplied by Felicity Banks; Choice of Games logo sourced from their website; Dream Daddy image sourced from Checkpoint Gaming; featured image of Choose Your Own Adventure books copyright Games vs Play.

Hello fellow gamebook collectors! Martin from Games vs Play here. I’ve been writing about my gamebook collection for a while now, but I thought it was about time I posted some actual shelfies of the books. When I finally got around to cleaning up my bookshelves and taking the pics, it got me thinking – what are the most prized possessions in my collection? What are my “grail” books that I haven’t found yet? And just how many (or how few) of my gamebooks have I actually read?

So I decided to turn this post into a kind of “guided tour” of my collection, a snapshot of where it is in late 2017 and where I want it to be as I continue to hunt down gamebooks and add them to the shelves. Here’s my epic shelfie – let me know what you think!

Number of books in my collection: 518

Five hundred and eighteen books turns out to be a surprisingly large amount of wood pulp. My collection is nowhere near as well laid out as you see in some of the shelfies posted on gamebook fan pages like the Fighting Fantasy (and other gamebooks) Facebook page. I’ve had to split the books across several bookcases, with the result that I can’t quite a get a shelfie showing the whole collection. My Fighting Fantasy and Sorcery! take pride of place in the largest bookcase (shown in the featured pic for this story), while the rest of my British-style gamebooks – including Lone Wolf,Way of the Tiger, Falcon and Grailquest among others – occupy three long shelves on another bookcase (shown left). My Choose Your Own Adventuresand other American-style gamebooks like Endless Quest, Time Machine, Twistpaplot have their own bookcase (shown right) – which, as you can see from this pic, is in fact a smaller bookshelf resting upside down upon a larger bookshelf.

The vast majority of books in my collection are true gamebooks – i.e. branching path narratives where “You”, the reader, get to make choices every few pages that influence the plot and the ultimate conclusion of the book. But look, I have stretched this definition a teeny tiny bit so I can include books that are just on the edge of being a full gamebook. I’m thinking of books like Ian Livingstone‘s Dicing with Dragons (1982) which is a kind of reference guide to roleplaying games and contains a short, self-contained gamebook, Joe Dever’sThe Magnamund Companion (1986), essentially a travel guide to the world of Lone Wolf which also includes a very short gamebook, and Paul Mason and Steve Williams’ The Riddling Reaver (1986), actually a campaign for the Fighting Fantasy RPG. Then there’s Galactic War(1975), the third entry in Usborne’s Battlegame Books series. I acknowledge this might be viewed as a controversial inclusion by some gamebook collectors. Galactic War has no branching path narratives and doesn’t break the “fourth wall” to address the reader as “You.” But I included it in my collection all the same because, like all the Battlegame Books, it includes 4 original boardgames complete with rules and cut-out playing pieces. As a kid I never actually played any of the games in Galactic War but I used to love looking at the game boards – the illustrations are great ’70s style science fiction with heaps of robots and aliens. So this is a book that has games in it, which makes it a “game-book” of sorts. Well, it’s close enough for me.

Back in 2010 I already had a small collection of gamebooks that dated from the ’80s and ’90s when I was first obsessed by Choose Your Own Adventure books and Fighting Fantasy (there were a few Be An Interplanetary Spy and Time Machine books in my original collection too). But I date the start of my current gamebook collection from Sunday 28 February 2010, which I can pinpoint with utmost confidence because it was the day of the Sydney Road Street Party in inner city Melbourne, where I lived at the time. The Sydney Road Street Party is a 3km (2 mile) long festival featuring live bands, food trucks, pop-up beer gardens and secondhand bookstalls. I was looking through one of these bookstalls when I caught sight of a book that looked very much like a Choose Your Own Adventure but whose cover had a metallic blue background rather than the familiar white. This turned out to be The Fiber People (1992; shown right), the somewhat bizarrely named 5th book in the Space Hawks series, a CYOA spin-off series written by Edward Packard in the early ’90s. At that stage I had very little awareness of the gamebook series existed outside of the big lines of the 1980s. Right there and then I decided I would begin scouring the secondhand bookstores of Melbourne to see if there were other gamebooks I’d never heard of before … and so my collection was born.

Percentage of collection read: 34% (176 out of 518 books)

Obviously, I’ve still got a loooong way to go … I simply don’t have the time to read them all! But now that my children are old enough to appreciate the unique appeals of choosing your own adventure or fighting a fantasy (that sounds weird, but you know what I mean) I’ve started reading my books with them. Which is a great way to work through the collection, and also heaps of fun.

6 Favourite gamebooks

Why 6 favourite books? Because it was too hard to pick just 5! Here they are, in no particular order:

House of Hell (1984; Steve Jackson, Fighting Fantasy #10): When I got this gamebook in 1986 it had *everything* a kid with a hyperactive imagination like me could want. The setting was gloriously spooky, the villains were actually sinister – the Earl of Drumer actually gave me nightmares! – and the artwork, especially that front cover by Ian Miller, was amazing. With adult eyes I now also appreciate House of Hell for its intricate internal architecture. As Demian says on his gamebook web page, the book is “not a story — it’s pure puzzle,” and one that I’ve never succeeded in solving. Perhaps that’s why it still looms so large in my imagination.

Hyperspace (1983; Edward Packard, Choose Your Own Adventure #21): Hyperspace blew my little suburban mind when I first read it in grade 5. This was probably the first truly postmodern book I ever read. I mean, it had all the hallmarks of a postmodern novel: a book within a book (in one plot line you’re reading a CYOA book inside a CYOA book), intertextuality (Dr Nera Vivaldi, a character from several other CYOAs, has a cameo) and most tellingly of all, Edward Packard himself appears in the story and talks to you. Weird stuff, but IMHO this book was a hint of what gamebooks can do that other books cannot.

Island of the Lizard King(1984; Ian Livingstone, Fighting Fantasy #7): Perhaps this wasn’t the best of the core Fighting Fantasy books set in Titan, but it was my favourite fantasy gamebook as a kid and I remain very fond of it. The internal illustrations by Alan Langford are just so clear and full of detail, while the story itself was a classic fantasy quest with not one but two boss monsters to defeat and exotic locations to explore. Just the best fun for my pre-Dungeons & Dragons self.

Light on Quests Mountain(1983; Mary L. Kirchoff and James M. Ward, Endless Quest #12): The Endless Quest books were initially released by TSR as an attempt to calm fears about D&D and Satanism (see my interview with Endless Quest creator Rose Estes for more on this). However, the series also had the secondary function of introducing younger readers to TSR’s line of roleplaying games, and thus Light on Quests Mountain was a tie-in in with the Gamma World setting, a rather kooky post-apocalyptic RPG featuring radioactive mutants and forbidden technology of the “Ancients.” Somehow this book manages to rise above its marketing objectives. In it you play a human tribesman tasked with leading your two mutant friends – a monkey mutant and a lizard mutant (see what I mean about mutants?) – on a rite of passage to Quests Mountain. It was written as a coming of age story and actually succeeds as one – you really do feel responsible for your two friends, and uncovering the secrets of Quests Mountain has a pleasantly ’80s sci-fi nostalgia to it.

Appointment with F.E.A.R.(1985; Steve Jackson, Fighting Fantasy #17): I like Appointment with F.E.A.R. because it was just so different. It was the only FF entry to venture into the superhero genre, and although other series attempted this territory (e.g. Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Gamebooks) I reckon this gamebook was the best of them. Though some fans find its meandering plot frustrating and lacking in direction, I think the sandbox structure gives a good idea of what being a superhero would really be like – you probably would spend most of your time roaming the city, chasing up seemingly unconnected crimes while trying to uncover the evil plot of your supervillain arch-nemesis. It’s a great gamebook for just dipping into, and the illustrations by Declan Considine capture the feel of comics really well. The acronym “F.E.A.R.” stands for “Federation of Euro-American Rebels,” by the way.

Sword of the Samurai (1984; Michael Reaves and Steve Perry, Time Machine #3): Not to be confused with the Fighting Fantasy book of the same title. All books in the Time Machine series were set in real historical periods, with the notable exception of the The Rings of Saturn, the only entry to be set in the future. Most Time Machine books carefully researched and some were even well-written, but Sword of the Samurai stands out from the rest. In it you’re tasked with going back in time to the 17th century to recover from the sword of Miyamoto Musashi, the most famous samurai of all. As you pop in and out of key moments of Musashi’s life you learn a lot about feudal Japan and the samurai code of honour, but more importantly you forge a lifelong connection with the samurai master himself. The final pages of the book at the end of Musashi’s life are surprisingly emotional. When I read the book with my older son recently he was almost moved to tears by the book’s conclusion, but bravely vowed that from now on he would live with honour and respect just as Musashi had. But I had to say a firm no to getting him a real samurai sword.

Grail books

These are gamebooks that I dearly, dearly want, but haven’t been able to find yet. I have fairly strict rules for my collection (see my story on that here), so I just can’t buy these books online. One day I’ll find them …

Maelstrom (1984; Alexander Scott): A standalone RPG set in 16th century Europe with some magic, Maelstrom also had a self-contained solo adventure. I’d really love to run a Maelstrom campaign with my RPG group one day.

Forbidden Gateway(1985; Ian Bailey and Clive Bailey): There were two books in this short-lived sci-fi horror series, and I have neither!

Howl of the Werewolf (2007; Jonathan Green, Fighting Fantasy Reissues #29/#11): I love gamebooks that put you in the shoes of unusual characters. In this later addition to the FF canon you’re bitten by a werewolf and have to find the monstrous shapechanger before you become one yourself. Instead of the usual 400 numbered paragraphs for FF books, this one has 515. And you’re a werewolf. I NEED THIS GAMEBOOK IN MY LIFE!!!

Mystery of the Ancients(1985; Morris Simon, Endless Quest #28): This is on my grail list mainly because I liked the Gamma World setting of Light on Quests Mountain and wanted to go back there again. Maybe I’ll never actually play the Gamma World RPG, but this is the next best thing.

Ocean of Lard (2005; Kevin L. Donihe and Carlton Mellick III, Choose Your Own Mind-F@ck Fest #17): I’ve only shown the back cover here because the front depicts, ahem, “adult themes” [Pssst! You can see the front cover here! You’re over 18, right? – Ed.] This book has to be real, right? I mean, it’s listed on Demian’s Gamebook Page, and I doubt Demian would include something that wasn’t real. The back cover asks, “Can you survive in the sea of animal fat, b$tch?” Ocean of Lard is on my grail list because I really need to know the answer to that question.

So there you have it – a snapshot of my gamebook collection, my very own epic shelfie. Now that you’ve seen mine, we’d love to see yours! [That came out a bit wrong, but we know what he means – Ed.]. Tell us about your own gamebook collection. How did it start? How many books do you have? What are your missing grail books? You can either contact us via our website or post an epic shelfie to Games vs Play’s Facebook page. Keep collecting everyone, and remember – if you’re game, we’ll play.

Image sources: Cover art for Maelstrom, Terrors Out of Time, Howl of the Werewolf and Mystery of the Ancients taken from Demian’s Gamebook Web Page; all other images copyright Martin Plowman. To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like Games vs Play on Facebook.

So how did this happen? In this listicle Games vs Play comes up with 5 reasons why CoC is actually one of the best historical RPGs around.

1. Call of Cthulhu was a period drama from the start.

And no, by this I don’t mean that CoC is like Downton Abbey with tentacles (although that would make a truly terrifying mash-up campaign). When Sandy Petersen and the other designers at Chaosium were putting together the first edition of CoC back in 1981 (pictured left) they decided to set the game in the 1920s, the period in which H.P. Lovecraft lived and wrote most of his Cthulhu Mythos stories. This might seem like a no-brainer but really it was a stroke of genius. Setting the base game in the 1920s meant that right from the start CoC had to be an historical RPG as well as a horror one. For first generation Keepers and players back in the ‘80s there was a gulf in time between themselves and the game setting, just as there is now. Anyone playing CoC therefore has to imagine two different worlds: the lost world of the past, and the darker world of the Mythos. It’s set the tone for the game ever since.

2. Cthulhu is eternal.

This is the main reason why CoC has spread its squamous tentacles into so many different historical periods. Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth and the rest of the Great Old Ones are eternal and their power, compared to us humans is, well, pretty much god-like. They shouldn’t really be thought of as alien entities from outside space and time but rather as imperishable constants of reality. I mean, there’s not been one single moment in all of human history that Cthulhu hasn’t been on Earth. Which is terrifying if it were true (and I’m not saying it’s not), but the upside is that it means you can literally set a CoC scenario anywhere and anytime. How’s this for a pitch: imagine a Neanderthal version of “Pickman’s Model,” where a caveman artist from 40,000 years ago sends his entire tribe insane with the ochre painting of that thing he’s daubed on the cave wall. Yeah, this could totally work.

3. CoC is realistic.

CoC is a very realistic game. Sure, maybe not the shoggoths and flying polyps, but when the game first came out in 1981 its mechanics were realistic in a way that hadn’t been seen before. PCs in CoC aren’t thunder-thewed heroes able to take 15 hit points damage in a single blow and still slay a dozen orcs with their “+ bazillion” battle-axe. CoC was one of the first RPGs where combat wasn’t the main course, but was instead more of an optional side dish made from toxic Japanese puffer fish that could kill you as easily as your opponents. And then let’s not get started on that most precious and fragile of character stats, Sanity … In fact you could argue that vulnerability and realism are the key distinguishing features of CoC, and for Keepers this has meant describing a realistic world for the players to inhabit, or be killed in.

4. The Cthulhu Mythos is a living thing.

In game terms this can be meant literally, like when your Miskatonic University anthropologist reads the first page of the Necronomiconand is suddenly possessed by the undead spirit of Abdul Al-Hazred. But the Cthulhu Mythos as a body of stories, novels, comics, films and games is also a living thing that has been expanded and reimagined many times. Before Chaosium released its first non-1920s period supplement – which I’m pretty sure was Cthulhu by Gaslight in 1986 – horror writers had been setting Mythos stories in different historical periods for decades. As early as 1945 August Derleth set parts of The Lurker at the Threshold (a short novel based on unfinished notes left by Lovecraft) in the 17th century. By the 1950s Robert Bloch was writing a sequel to The Haunter of the Darkset in the atomic age, while in the 1960s and ’70s British author Ramsey Campbell created his own “Lovecraft Country” centered on the fictional town of Brichester in England’s Severn Valley (map shown left). Transplanting the Mythos to other historical periods and locations was already a tradition by the time the RPG came out – but it’s been CoC that’s really taken hold of this idea and run with it, with endlessly surprising and amazing results.

5. Real history is a bit of a horror show.

This might be a bit of a downer on which to finish our listicle, but it’s true – real history has had more than its fair share of horror stories. And although I don’t want to trivialize human suffering, these periods of terror and destruction make for atmospheric settings for a CoC scenario. It kind of makes sense too. Why wouldn’t Cthulhu cultists take advantage of the horror and chaos of World War 2 to further their own nefarious plans? Modern day history isn’t exactly awesome either. Next thing you know there’ll be a Cthulhu game setting for the Trump Presidency! Oh, wait …

So there you have it – this is Games vs Play’s top 5 reasons why Call of Cthulhu is one of the best historical roleplaying games around. Now it’s over to you – what’s been the most unusual or memorable historical setting that you’ve either played or run a CoC scenario in? We’d love to know! Either contact Games vs Play via our website or leave a message on our Facebook page.

To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like Games vs Play on Facebook. And remember – if you’re game, we’ll play!

]]>http://gamesvsplay.com/5-reasons-why-call-of-cthulhu-is-actually-one-of-the-best-historical-rpgs-around/feed/0Oz Comic-Con 2017: Game of Thrones, Cosplay, Christopher Lambert and Buffy (but not in the same room)http://gamesvsplay.com/oz-comic-con-2017-game-of-thrones-cosplay-christopher-lambert-and-buffy-but-not-in-the-same-room/
http://gamesvsplay.com/oz-comic-con-2017-game-of-thrones-cosplay-christopher-lambert-and-buffy-but-not-in-the-same-room/#commentsWed, 02 Aug 2017 22:33:02 +0000http://gamesvsplay.com/?p=1925Oz Comic-Con isn’t just cosplay and questionable catering options – it’s also all about the panels. This year Falk and Martin stuck their bulbous heads and mismatched eyes (actually we’re pretty normal looking) into a few of the panels including Game of Thrones, Christopher Lambert and Buffythe Vampire Slayer. We also checked out the cosplay championships, where the mighty power of worbla reigns supreme.

I’m not at all surprised when an actor turns out to be completely different from the character they’re known for playing. But wow, sometimes even my cynical façade is shaken by an actor who is the complete, total, screamingly polar opposite of their onscreen persona – as was the case with Daniel Portman, the Scottish actor who portrays Podrick Payne in HBO’s epic fantasy series Game of Thrones. While good old Pod, loyal squire to Tyrion Lannister and later to Brienne of Tarth, is a markedly shy and inarticulate character, Daniel is quick-witted, loud, and a bit of joker. Being from Glasgow, it struck me that he’s also not the sort of person who’s afraid to say it like it is.

Eugene Simon, who plays Lancel Lannister in the series, is perhaps a bit closer IRL to his GoT character. With an accent that I would guess was cultivated by an education in the English public school system, the charismatic Eugene came across just as approachable as Daniel, though perhaps he gave somewhat more serious consideration to his answers. It was great fun listening to the two lads bounce off each other. I can’t remember offhand if Podrick and Lancel were in many scenes together in the series, but it was clear Eugene and Daniel knew each other well and enjoyed joking around together onstage.

Like the professionals they were, they barely gave away any spoilers about their characters (except for Eugene loudly proclaiming that he was dead every second sentence). But we did learn some useful things about life on the set of the most important television series ever made.

When asked what he’d learnt from Game of Thrones, Daniel answered “diplomacy” (which got a few laughs) and “learning to ride a horse good enough so that it looked bad” – a reference to his character’s notorious lack of coordination in the saddle. Speaking of saddles, at the beginning of the panel we were cautioned by the Oz Comic-Con MC not to ask any personal questions to do with sex, religion or politics. I guess those rules only applied to the actors and not their characters, as someone in the audience asked Daniel the question that’s been bugging fans of GoT ever since season 2: what exactly did Pod do with the prostitutes in King’s Landing?

Daniel laughed out loud at this. “Let’s just say that Podrick is nothing if not a generous and giving lover,” he answered in his Glaswegian brogue.

Eugene spoke at length about Lancel’s journey from a callow and pampered Lannister knight-boy to Cersei’s tormented lover to his final incarnation as a religious zealot of the Faith Militant. According to Eugene, probably the most welcome transformation for him personally was when Lancel cut his flowing Lannister locks in an act of penance, which meant that Eugene no longer had to wear a wig on shoot. “God, it itched,” he told the audience.

Eugene also stressed how much he’d learnt about his trade from other actors on the set. “As an actor, never think you know it all,” he said. “You can always learn from others.” But it’s possible that all the backstabbing and violence in the series had finally warped even a nice young fellow like Eugene Simon, for his final advice to aspiring actors was that if anybody did get in your way to the top, you ought to “Kill them! Destroy them all!” And with these words he leapt up and overturned the coffee table that had shared the stage with the two actors, to much delight and uproar in the hall. Looking almost surprised at his own outburst, Eugene bowed to the applause while Daniel/Pod, like the faithful squire he is, quietly righted the coffee table and offered an apologetic smile to the audience.

Champions of Cosplay (Falk)

After wandering around the Oz Comic-Con exhibition area and taking a short lunch break it was time to take in some cosplay action. Already impressed by the huge array of brilliantly costumed characters that were wandering around the grounds (and the vast majority of whom were “just” hobby cosplayers!) the next step was to find out what happens when cosplayers level up. Cue the Melbourne phase of the international Champions of Cosplay competition, the winner of which gets to compete for the Australian title, and then has the chance to go on to the world final in Chicago.

The eight contestants were breathtaking, with costumes ranging from an Azerothian Orc Warchief, to Doctor Strange, to an interpretation of Dumbledore’s phoenix Fawkes from the Potterverse. Host Jusz Cosplay did a fantastic job introducing the contestants, and detailing the amount of painstaking effort and craftsmanship that went into the creation of each costume — many contestants worked on their pieces for months on end. For uninitiated audience members like me it was also an opportunity to learn about worbla, a rare and much sought-after mystical substance that is required to unlock the highest levels of cosplay powers. Okay, it’s really a type of thermoplastic. But it does play a role in some of the highest levels of crafting, and was a key part in the creation of truly awesome costumes, including that of winner Kayla Jean’s Blue Serpent Warlock from Granado Espada costume. Congratulations Kayla, and good luck for the next round!

Christopher Lambert panel (Martin)

French actor and alleged immortal Christopher Lambert came on stage in blue jeans, black hoodie and a pair of aviator glasses. With his peroxided yellow hair he looked like everyone’s favourite Euro-uncle, which I honestly mean in the best possible way. I’m a fan of Christopher Lambert from way back. I think he’s awesome.

Now 60, Christopher Lambert’s lasting fame is founded on two cult movies from the ‘80s, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) and Highlander (1986). However I don’t want to sell Christopher short, because his career encompasses much more than these two films, stretching as it does over six decades (his first role was in 1963 when he was 7 years old) and including other great films like Luc Besson’s Subway (1985) and the Coen Brothers’Hail Caesar!(2016). But during his panel it was definitely Greystoke and Highlander that his fans wanted to know about.

A lot of questions focussed on Christopher’s training for the swordplay and stunts in the Highlander franchise (Lambert starred as the eponymous Scotsman Connor MacLeod in the first four films of the series). There were people in the audience asking very, very detailed questions that I can only believe they’d been formulating for many years prior to this panel. Perhaps even since Highlander first came out.

Christopher was very patient and good-humoured in his responses, just like you’d expect from your favourite Euro-uncle (ok, I may have a Euro-uncle fixation on him). According to him, one of the hardest stunts he did was in the first Highlander film during the “I don’t like boats” scene, where Sean Connery, who plays the immortal swordsman Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez (I think they used every Spanish surname here) deliberately tips MacLeod into the freezing waters of a very real Scottish loch. The stunt itself was easy – Christopher just had to fall off a boat – but the water was very cold indeed, even for an immortal highlander.

Perhaps the most detailed question came from one fan who wanted to know where was Connor MacLeod during the scene in the first Highlander film where Ramirez seduces MacLeod’s wife (obviously I’m condensing the abridging the question here). “Because I don’t think that another man seducing his wife would be something that MacLeod would stand for, you know what I mean? So where were you when that happened – were you just down at the shops or something?”

For a moment Lambert seemed a bit confused by the question. Maybe our Australian accents were throwing him off (and by the way I was struck by how uncannily similar Christopher’s French accent sounded to Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite Arnie being Austrian. I mean, Christopher even pronounced “movie” the way Arnie does. “So I did this moo-FEE, you know …”).

But no, Christopher was just trying to come up with a valid response. “Listen,” he said, and broke into some very French-sounding chuckles. “Heh, heh, heh. Listen. Sometimes in movies, it’s best not to think too much about what’s going on. Just let it happen. I don’t know where Connor was in that scene, because it wasn’t in the script. And where was I? I was probably at the pub! Heh, heh, heh.” I hope this pithy response gave closure to the fan’s question.

But Lambert’s take home message to sum up his career so far was nice and straightforward. “I only ever took a role if it looked like fun,” he told us. “I got into acting because I wanted to be someone else – not boring old me! When I read a script by the time I get to page 20 or 30 I know if it it’s gonna be fun or not. Now, I’ve made some good films, and I’ve made some bad films too, it’s true. But in all my films I had fun. That’s the only reason I did it – for FUN!”

Like I said, Christopher Lambert is a cool guy. He can be my surrogate Euro-uncle any day.

Buffy panel, with Tom Lenk and Alyson Hannigan (Falk)

Come Sunday evening, it was time for a final panel session. Already sitting in the auditorium after Christopher Lambert, more and more people began to file in, and a growing level of excitement were palpable: something big was about to happen.

And it did, with stars Alyson Hannigan and Tom Lenk literally skipping onto the stage for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer panel. After a short introduction, they begin to field audience questions, and it quickly became clear that these two are old friends from the way they bounced off each while recounting anecdotes, ranging from their first encounters with Joss Whedon (AH was convinced that she was about to start working with a terrible person who was making false claims about having written Toy Story) to sharing acting tips (need to cry on cue? Try pulling out a nose-hair!) to finding out who hasn’t been faithfully watching every single one of the other’s post-Buffy shows (they were both guilty of that one).

Along with the humour there was also humility, with both having clearly enjoyed their time working with a special group of people on a ground-breaking show, and it’s this as much as the funny stories that made the two stars seem like old friends of the audience too.

Like the Buffy series itself, the session was over all too soon. It’s hard to believe that it’s already 14 years since the seventh and final season of the show first aired on TV, and it speaks volumes for the impact that this show has had on popular culture to see that the fans were as enthusiastic and abuzz as if the show had just finished its run a few months ago.

This panel was a highlight of what was overall a fantastic day at Oz Comic-Con 2017. My one disappointment is that we never did learn the difference between Dark Willow and Veiny Willow. Maybe they’ll be back next year to let us know

Games vs Play would like to thank the Melbourne organisers of Oz Comic-Con 2017 and Blue Planet Public Relations for access to this year’s con.To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like us on Facebook. And remember – if you’re game, we’ll play!

Ok! Hi, I’m Jess and a couple of weeks ago I got an invite from the guys at Games vs Play to attend Oz Comic-Con 2017. Immediately I thought this was a great idea. I’m a comic book librarian (yeah that’s totally a thing, it’s awesome) and a super amateur photographer so it would give me a chance to have a peek around the con scene for the first time without feeling like a total jerk for not being in cosplay. Near instantly my joy turned to cold hard terror and the thought of going to a con at all was an inexplicably frightening prospect – I think they might call this ‘imposter syndrome’.

But I managed to get over myself and decided the best place to start was somewhere I might be more comfortable than not, so I headed for Nicola Scott’s panel “Comic Book Women: Leading the Charge”. For those not familiar with Scott (pictured left), she is an Australian comic book artist working in the American industry and is probably best known for drawing Wonder Woman. I have seen Scott speak before on women in the comics industry and I maybe have a super huge, strong lady type crush on her. Basically she’s a woman who knew what she wanted to do with her career and made it happen, in a male dominated area, plus she speaks well on the topic and is very entertaining. The floor was open for questions which ranged from Scott’s career and its progression to a coy query about whether Wonder Woman is dating anyone in the Justice League (I didn’t see the asker but he sounded a tad young for Wonder Woman). The question was received with warm giggles from the audience and a sincere, thoughtful and lengthy response from Scott (if you’re wondering, Wonder Woman would maybe be interested in Batman but on a bit of a casual kind of level).

I am still alive post-Nicola Scott and decide it’s time for me to wander the floor and maybe pick up the courage to ask for some photos. This takes me an obscenely long time and I mostly end up yelling at people “HI I REALLY LIKE YOUR COSPLAY CAN I PLZ TAKE A PHOTO,” a technique that will require some refinement if I ever try it again. But once I start, it gets easier and I think my ludicrous enthusiasm is maybe a tiny bit contagious. During these interactions and watching others, it occurs to me for the first time that cosplay as a whole is much more than just wearing an outfit. The people that I ask to photograph pose and act in the ways the characters they’re dressed as (DUH JESS! I can hear you yelling) but for someone who hasn’t been here before, I find these gestures simply glorious, and my high pitched-ness increases exponentially. (If you’re new to the whole con/cosplay thing and are interested, or just love a bit of cosplay, I came across this TED Talk by Adam Savage from Myth Busters quite randomly a week or so after my experience and it’s super cute and nice and excellent ….) I also LOVED watching people meet strangers in amazing cosplay, when you can see the admiration in their faces as they approach, thinking someone has made that costume, with incredible attention to detail, craftsmanship, sheer passion and imagination – that’s a real superhero!

During my time at Oz Comic-Con I saw A LOT of Harley Quinns, like billions (what’s that thing about showing up to a party in the same outfit as someone else?!) Obviously there are trends when it comes to pop culture, like what’s popular, so this made sense. There were also MANY princesses, the Disney kind, which I found a bit more unexpected but still, popular. I then overheard a mum-aged lady saying there were a lot less zombies this year and far more princesses … which made me wonder what the years to come will bring and who people dressed as a lot in the past.

If you have’t noticed, I was taking notes on the girl cosplayers and who they chose to be. Did you know that more than 50% of con attendees are lady types? No? Me either! I learned that in Nicola Scott’s panel earlier in the day. Finally much to my disappointment, I saw NO SQUIRREL GIRLS. None! Hopefully once she gets her TV show there will be billions of her too!

Unfortunately I didn’t make it to day two of Oz Comic-Con. But if I had, I would have sure practiced my yelling at people for photos skills some more. I guess I’ll just have to wait until next time.

About Jess

Jess is an overenthusiastic try-er of new things who enjoys comics, cats, skateboarding, photography, cute sh*t and general nonsense. She is into books/films/TV with strong lady type protagonists and also things like diverse representations of race, physical ability, sex, sexuality & gender

All images in this post taken by Jess Kilpatrick.

To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like Games vs Play on Facebook. And remember – if you’re game, we’ll play!

]]>http://gamesvsplay.com/oz-comic-con-2017-comics-and-cosplay/feed/0Sneak Preview: The Brigade, with lead designer Alex Wynnterhttp://gamesvsplay.com/sneak-preview-the-brigade-with-lead-designer-alex-wynnter/
http://gamesvsplay.com/sneak-preview-the-brigade-with-lead-designer-alex-wynnter/#commentsWed, 10 May 2017 04:50:18 +0000http://gamesvsplay.com/?p=1710Games vs Play: I’m very happy to be talking with Alex Wynnter tonight (pictured right), who is not only the President of Tabletop Game Designers Australia but is also the designer of a new game that’s soon to come out on Kickstarter, The Brigade. Welcome Alex, and congratulations on getting the game to the Kickstarter phase.

Alex Wynnter: Hello! It’s been a struggle to get it to Kickstarter, but you know, you’ve got to do these things at some point!

GvP: So, I was lucky enough to do a playtest of The Brigade a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it [the prototype we played is pictured below]. I think it’s a great game – it’s got a nice mix of light strategy with a lot of tactical manoeuvring, plus some randomising mechanics that ramp up the urgency of the game for all the players. Could you tell us a bit more about The Brigade and what players might expect from it?

Alex: Yeah, sure. The short story I usually tell playtesters is that there’s a town called Tinderbox, and the people living there wanted to increase their revenue through tourism. So they thought it was a great idea to build a pyromancy university in the middle of the town. It worked well for a few years, they earned a bit of money from tourism – this information is coming directly from the tourism office, which is one of the buildings in The Brigade – but at one point something’s gone terribly wrong. The uni has “mysteriously” caught fire. There were always fires in the town of Tinderbox, but this one is “mysterious”, and the Fire Chief has also “mysteriously” disappeared. Now the four Fire Wardens that control one quarter of the town each, they’re all vying to become the new Fire Chief. So, during the game, everything you can do is something that a Fire Warden would do. You can move over there, you can put out a fire, you might need to get some more water, you can move your water wagon or equivalent of a fire engine, you can hire a crew, and you can get better at stuff, by training yourself or upgrading your instruments. During the game you have to make choices of what you’re doing with your actions, then follow through with them and hope that you become the Fire Chief at the end of the game.

GvP: Yeah, it’s very good if you like lateral thinking. There are also lots of degrees of freedom, which I think is great. You can choose to do a lot of different actions in each round. I enjoyed that part of the design too.

Alex: Definitely. Freedom is one of the things I like within a game. I think choice is one of the most valuable things we do as humans, and I think it’s also one of the most valuable things you can do during a game. We’ve nutted it down to about 8 actions that you can choose to do, but we started with about 16, so we thought, “Nah, scrap that one, that [action’s] too powerful or this one’s not good enough, or not getting used.” So we just narrowed it down to the best possible actions, and within those 8 different actions you have a lot of freedom of what you can do in the game.

GvP: So where did the idea for The Brigade come from? Because you’ve got quite a good backstory.

Alex: It is a good backstory, and I can’t take any credit for it! The magnificent theme and the basic concept we started working on was actually made up by Ben Hoban, who is my associate at Red Genie Games. He came up with all that stuff, and then we both developed it together. I’ve always liked Terry Pratchett. He was a fantastic writer, and he sort of inspired a lot of the things that are going on in the game. We also hired a copywriter, and he also loves Terry Pratchett. After seeing the art and the gameplay he could see it’s a bit comedic, so he drew some inspiration from that and has created more of the backstory. We only had a basic, generic-amusing backstory at the start, but he’s just taken that and brought it up another 5 levels. One of the things we’re doing at the moment is releasing The Tinderbox Times, a newspaper in The Brigade. We’ve released two editions so far of The Tinderbox Times, and it’s telling the backstory in the form of a newspaper. It’s got all these other little things in there too, like ads for some of the property in town. Part of the game is that it’s a random set-up. You take all the town tiles and you place them in a random arrangement. So one of my favourite things recently in the newspaper was this story, “Royal Cartographer Quits!” The story basically says the Royal Cartographer came to Tinderbox to map the town, but was growing increasingly frustrated because the building that was there one week is now on the other side of town! [both laugh]

GvP: That’s great. Where can we read that?

Alex: They’ve been posted on the Red Genie Facebook page, but it’s also part of the mailing list, so if you join up to the mailing list you’ll get sent The Tinderbox Times episodes.

GvP: I love the idea of there being a universe outside the game that supports it.

Alex: Yeah, well one of the stretch goals I would like to achieve is to grab all the additional storyline stuff and either put them in a digital e-book first of all, and then a printed book that we can just add into the game.

GvP: You mentioned that Terry Pratchett is a big influence on the style and look of the game, and the art too has that comedic-fantasy look to it. At the prototype, the art looks fantastic.

Alex: The artist we have is phenomenal. I just commissioned the three remaining Fire Wardens. We’ve got one Fire Warden already done, and we needed the other three to set up the Kickstarter page. I gave our artist a basic set of information, a little bit of backstory for each Warden, and I set the colour palettes for each one, because they adhere to the different building types in the game. I sent him these ideas and he’s given me back these three sketches, and they’re just fantastic. He’s just got such an imagination. The dwarf Fire Warden, for instance, has got a big hammer, which you know fits into your big thematic, fantasy-type game. He’s a dwarf, he’s rich because he’s a merchant, he’s got this shiny belt and he’s got this hammer. But the hammer has a bell on it, like big alarm bells, so if there was a fire emergency he’d smash his hammer on the ground and the bells would ring out and everyone would hear. Our artist came up with this idea and it was just brilliant. I can’t wait to see the final art on these Fire Wardens.

GvP: Who’s the artist again?

Alex: We call him Nunoh, and he’s from Spain. We’ve just posted a profile of him on brigadegame.com. It has all his information on it and what his influences are.

GvP: So, if you were to talk with an aspiring games designer, what’s the best advice you would give them having gotten to this point with The Brigade?

Alex: The best advice you can give to any games designer is just get it out on pen and paper. And play it with someone, play it with anyone. You can play it with your family first, that’s fine, they’ll give you some positive feedback. But then play it with games designers, because they’re the ones who are going to find problems with it. I think another top tip would be, don’t waste time making it look pretty for your first prototypes. First of all, you’ll waste a ton of time designing it – and this is coming from a graphic designer who has to have everything pretty – but it can also take away the focus from the gameplay. People will look at the art and, if something deserves bad feedback, they won’t give you bad feedback because they’re distracted by the quality of the art or how pretty it looks. They’ll be like, “Look, ah, you could change this thing, but you’ve already designed it, so I’m just creating extra work for you.” Don’t make it pretty, make it rough, make it black and white with just squares and circles. You don’t need placeholder artwork, just make something up. As long as it’s understandable and playable, just play it. You’ll get the best feedback, you’ll get quick feedback, and you’ll be able to adjust things easily when you come to modifying how your game plays. And I’ve got one more top tip – if you need things in different colours, you can still print in black and white but just change the colour of the paper.

GvP: That’s an awesome tip!

Alex: It’s saved me a ton of money.

GvP: I think we’re just about wrapped up, but what’s the next stage now? How soon will the Kickstarter be happening?

Alex: I’m hoping in June, but if it comes to it we might push it back another month. It’s better getting a killer Kickstarter than a mediocre one. We’re still just trying to build our following. We’ve got a ton of events coming up, there’s about 3 or 4 different gaming events in June that I’m going to, including ShepparCon. Just get people playing it, enjoying it, and then hopefully liking the Facebook page, for the art, the game, for us. Then hopefully pledging on the Kickstarter.

GvP: Can I ask if there are any other games on the horizon?

Alex: Personally, I’ve got a game that I’m working on with a publisher that will hopefully be released halfway through next year [2018]. This is a really nice drafting game about scenery. I’m working on an Aztec temple game with another friend, Dale Maccanti. It’s sort of like a race to get your treasure and get out of the temple and not fall into the many traps that it has. It’s got a moveable board, which is really cool, that’s probably our hook. That’s pretty much what I’m working on. With Red Genie there is another game in the works, but that’s top secret at the moment.

GvP: That’s cool, we won’t go there yet! Alright, I’ve got one last question: do we ever find out where the Fire Chief actually disappeared to?

Alex: Ah, see, now that’s a really good question. I feel like that’s something you need to subscribe to us to find out! [both laugh]

Games vs Play would like to thank Red Genie Games and Alex Wynnter for permission to use images from The Brigade appearing in this post. Stay tuned for news of the Kickstarter, coming soon!

To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like Games vs Play on Facebook. And remember – if you’re game, we’ll play!

]]>http://gamesvsplay.com/sneak-preview-the-brigade-with-lead-designer-alex-wynnter/feed/0Scenario Playtest: A Few Minutes with Mark Platt, round 1 winner of the Cult of Chaos Convention Scenario Competitionhttp://gamesvsplay.com/scenario-playtest-a-few-minutes-with-mark-platt-round-1-winner-of-the-cult-of-chaos-convention-scenario-competition/
http://gamesvsplay.com/scenario-playtest-a-few-minutes-with-mark-platt-round-1-winner-of-the-cult-of-chaos-convention-scenario-competition/#commentsWed, 26 Apr 2017 04:05:18 +0000http://gamesvsplay.com/?p=1671Chaosium’s Cult of Chaos Convention Scenario Competition is an opportunity for Keepers and players of Call of Cthulhu to try their hand at writing a scenario for the famed Lovecraftian RPG. Leigh and Martin from Games vs Play recently playtested Mark Platt’s CofC scenario set in Communist-era East Germany, one of the entries to make it through the first round of the competition. Afterwards we asked Mark a few questions about how to write a CofC scenario, where he got the idea for his adventure from, and also his personal feelings about a certain type of fungi from Yuggoth.

Mark: I think Leigh might have posted about it on the Call of Cthulhu Melbourne Facebook group. And I thought, “Do I want to apply? Do I want to get into this competition? Yeah, sure, why not? I’ll give being a writer a go. What’s the worst that could happen?” I didn’t expect to get in at all, I thought there’d be a lot more experienced Keepers than I am who’ve been writing their scenarios since, like, the ‘80s, who would all get in. But no, for some reason they really liked my pitch, so they chose mine to be one of the people to go into the next round.

GvP: So this first round of the competition, what does that entail?

Mark: Basically I will write a full-length scenario, including the handouts and player sheets, all the stats, and submit it to the guys at Chaosium. They will then judge it, see whether they like it or not.

GvP: And then possibly the next round.

Mark: Yeah, possibly.

GvP: Great, good luck with it. Without giving out any spoilers, what’s your scenario about?

Mark: Basically you are policemen in 1970s East Germany [flag shown right], and you have to investigate some mysterious goings on, including some kidnappings of people. Without spoilers, that’s pretty much it. [laughs]

GvP: It’s a very atmospheric adventure. The setting comes across really well, and it’s a lot different to many of the more standard Call of Cthulhu settings, which are usually 1920s or modern day. Where did the idea come from then, for this particular scenario?

Mark: I watched a movie, it was called Goodbye Lenin. It was about a teenager in the late ‘80s in East Germany, about the time of the collapse of the Berlin Wall [pictured left as it looked in 1986], and his mum goes into a coma as a result of a stroke. While she’s in the coma the Berlin Wall falls, the Soviet Union begins to collapse, and when she comes out of the coma a doctor tells her son, “Hey look, your mum could have another stroke any moment if there’s any sort of shock. If anything bad happens don’t tell her, try to keep her as stable as possible.” She doesn’t know about the collapse of the country, and she’s quite a fervent Communist, and so he thinks, “My god, if I tell her she’ll have another stroke.” So he tries to maintain the illusion of the country still being around, like getting all the old products from the bin and putting them in the cupboard … I really like that movie, and I was really interested in East Germany, I watched some documentaries, and that kind of inspired me with the setting.

GvP: When you’re writing a scenario, what are some of the important things for you to observe?

Mark: An important thing for me probably would be to provide the players with an experience where they are out of their comfort zone, I would say. Not only in the setting, but in a dangerous situation. My scenario has a bit of a tense atmosphere, you’re uncomfortable, you’re looking over your shoulder. That type of thing.

GvP: We’ve been looking over the scenario itself [after playtesting it] – what has been the most challenging thing writing specifically a Call of Cthulhu scenario?

Mark: Probably the investigation aspect of it. You have to be able to lay the clues down right, be sure that the players are able to get the clues, make sure they follow them to their conclusion and make sure that the NPCs – the enemies of the players – aren’t just sitting around in the end dungeon, to use D&D terminology, waiting for the players to come along and say, “Aha! So you have found me – now we shall fight!” You have to have things going on that might throw the players off, that type of stuff.

GvP: What fascinates you about Call of Cthulhu in general that pushed you along to the writing side of things?

Mark: I love the idea of this alternate world where all these Elder Gods exist. And so I wonder, what happens in a post-1930s world? Because Lovecraft’s stuff was all ‘20s and ‘30s. With the advancement of time, what happened in World War II with the Mythos? What can I write about set on the Eastern Front of Russia? How was the Mythos involved in that? What was Cthulhu doing when they were nuking the Pacific during the 1950s thermonuclear tests? Stuff like that. I wanted to write about things that aren’t touched upon by all the regular scenarios and books involved with Lovecraft.

GvP: So what’s been the hardest thing you encountered while developing the story?

Mark: Well, I received this “How to write a Call of Cthulhu Scenario” document from Chaosium. It was basically guidelines on how to outline your scenario, make sure it’s formatted right etc. Taking my completely unformatted notes which I’d just been jotting down and trying to configure them into this format of how a scenario should read was probably the toughest thing.

GvP: If you were to give advice to other writers or Keepers who wanted to develop their own adventures, what would be the most important thing you would tell them?

Mark: I would say try to provide an experience where it’s something that old players and new players will enjoy playing. So, if it’s just a romp through the Arkham countryside encountering classic enemies like shoggoths and that type of thing, I don’t think that your experienced, veteran Call of Cthulhu player will be that interested. But if you’re in somewhere a little more exotic, whether it’s East Germany or whether you’re in Russia or somewhere like that, I think that provides a great benefit to your scenario. I’m a big fan of exotic settings, if you haven’t been able to tell! [laughs] I like exotic settings a lot.

GvP: Ok thanks Mark, we’re nearly at the end of the interview now. I guess our final question would be, if a Mi-go approached you and offered to take your brain out of your body and put it into a canister to fly you to the Pluto kind of area? Maybe you’re with me on this one, I’m talking about Yuggoth here … would you accept?

Mark: Nah, because they could just use my brain for fuel for a machine or something! [all laugh] That’s what they do sometimes, they use human brains to power their guns or whatever. No way. I’m not signing up for that scam.

The second round winners of the Cult of Chaos Convention Scenario Competition will be announced later in 2017. For more details go to the Chaosium website. To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like Games vs Play on Facebook. And remember – if you’re game, we’ll play!

]]>http://gamesvsplay.com/scenario-playtest-a-few-minutes-with-mark-platt-round-1-winner-of-the-cult-of-chaos-convention-scenario-competition/feed/0Absolute Decimation – an Exclusive Games vs Play Sneak Previewhttp://gamesvsplay.com/absolute-decimation/
http://gamesvsplay.com/absolute-decimation/#commentsWed, 19 Apr 2017 04:10:57 +0000http://gamesvsplay.com/?p=1618Word Forge Games will soon be launching the Kickstarter for Absolute Decimation, a tactical miniatures game that pits telepathically controlled super tanks against each other in a struggle that can only end in, well, absolute decimation. In this exclusive sneak preview, Games vs Play recently caught up with Chris Reynolds, the lead designer behind Absolute Decimation and longtime Warhammer fan, to find out more about this intriguing new tabletop battlegame.

Games vs Play: Thanks for talking with Games vs Play, Chris. You’re the lead designer behind the new tactical miniatures game Absolute Decimation, due to hit Kickstarter in May 2017. Can you tell us a little about what people should expect from Absolute Decimation?

Chris Reynolds: Certainly! The game set in a high-tech post-apocalyptic world where humans and AI have fought each other to a stalemate. The primary weapon that allowed humanity to survive were the Digipaths, people whose brains are structured in such a way that they can reprogram a computer instinctively, the same as you or I might ride a bike or throw a ball. They lead small squads of drones from the belly of their command vehicles.

The game itself is a skirmish tabletop miniatures wargame set in 1/100 (15mm) scale, with each player bringing about a dozen combat drones to the fight. It’s played with an innovative programming mechanic, where players select a handful of orders programs (represented by cards) for each of their Digipaths each turn. Each card has an action on it, to make a unit move, shoot, go to ground, etc. No unit can perform any action except what’s written on those cards – there’s no default moving or shooting here. It also features the ability to build new units during the game, which opens up a range of strategy options. Players can bring their whole collection and build new units that aren’t on the table. They can replace their losses or alter their strategy mid-game.

GvP: So what’s the objective in Absolute Decimation?

Chris: This is actually a bit wide open. Players have to achieve a number of victory conditions – holding more ground, destroying the most enemy units, degrading the enemy command vehicles. Normally, players have to achieve any two out of three. So if you’re holding more ground, you can conserve your forces. But if you’re forced into a corner, you can try to kill as many enemy drones as possible, or make an attack on their commander. However, choosing one of the factions actually gives you a fourth method to achieve victory, depending on the faction’s objectives… some may want to overrun the enemy, some may want to grab as many resources as possible.

Of course, players may have some more immediate aims within the game itself, like taking and fortifying the automated mines to deny them to the enemy. And (if all goes well at Kickstarter) there will be new game modes in the future that provide objectives-based victory conditions and a campaign system.

GvP: The team here at Games vs Play were intrigued by the mechanic that allowed players to build new units in the middle of the game. How do you think this will transform strategy and tactics for players?

Chris: This is one that looks simple at first, but it opens up a massive amount of possibility for the game. The first is that you can expend your forces, letting tanks die in battle and then replacing them with new ones from the Assembler. If the game is going badly for you, just focus on production for a couple of turns and you may be able to recover.

Another thing it can do is that you can actually change your force to counter the enemy’s lineup. Have you brought all Rhino tanks and the enemy is nothing but Wolves? Normally that would be an uphill battle for you, but in this game you can play a Scuttle orders card to remove one Rhino and then immediately build an Elephant, which is a hard counter for a Wolf.

But you can also take it a step further. Some of my longer-term playtesters have experimented with strategies like taking a full lineup of Wolf tanks (fast raiders) at deployment, and not expecting them to survive long. They then replace them with Rhinos, and later with Elephant artillery tanks as backup. This forces their opponents to change their strategy mid-game.

The Assembler is also a prime target. It’s vulnerable to the Wolf’s short-ranged plasma cannons, and not nearly as well protected as the Command Tank. Players have very successfully stripped their opponent of the means to produce, but fortunately the game doesn’t end quickly after that. Commanders without a production unit can steal the enemy’s units by using the Capture orders card (representing reprogramming enemy units), or even stealing the enemy Assembler itself! And of course, the same sorts of things can happen with the logistics vehicles that collect resources and return them to the Assembler during the game – destroyed or captured by the enemy. Canny players even like to use one of their logistic vehicles as a disposable spotter for artillery, amongst other things!

GvP: I know it’s still early days, but do you have any expansions planned?

Chris: Oh yes, very much so! Of course, it all depends on whether the game will perform well at Kickstarter. We know that it’s a new IP from a small company in a market full of games based on much loved settings, but there are some big plans in the pipeline. For one, we’re going to expand beyond tanks and include hovercraft, insect-like walkers and aircraft in future expansions. There will be new gameplay methods, objectives and campaigns as I’ve alluded to above. There will be new commanders, new units and new orders cards to expand your options. There will be super-heavy units, massive combat drones that take up two or three slots each. And for those who like bigger battles, there will be an all-out-war game mode that lets you take small squads of combat drones instead of individual units.

GvP: Where did the idea for Absolute Decimation come from?

Chris: I’m a writer as well as a games designer, and one of the wonderful things to play with creatively is to build a world in which you can put things like tabletop games, RPGs and novels. This game came about by degrees, but then evolved alongside a novel that I’ve started writing in the same setting. The two works have sort of fed off each other, and I’m a big believer in the fluff fitting the game.

The concept itself comes from a lot of reading that I was doing on Artificial Intelligence, the future of work and automation of jobs. That fed into the concept of AI-guided labour, which gets sabotaged by human beings and sets the world afire. The scary part about the story is that there’s plenty of real-world fear in there… we don’t yet know how to handle AI in this context. Plus, the AI aren’t deliberately malicious to humans. When they were sabotaged, all that happened was that the safety protocols were removed. So an AI that manages crops suddenly looks beyond the boundaries of the property it’s managing and decides to bulldoze the neighbouring village to put up more fruit trees, for example. Then a mining AI comes and digs them up to get at some minerals, before a construction AI fills it all in and builds apartments to plan, although no human will ever live in them.

GvP: Was there anything that caught you by surprise while making the game?

Chris: Absolutely! For one thing, until recently the game was called ‘Absolute Domination.’ This is based on how the military uses the term: they ‘dominate ground’ or ‘find a dominating feature.’ However, that word means something very different to most people, so we’ve had to change it to prevent gamers googling the game getting search pages full of porn! We probably waited a little too long to change the name … we’d already launched on social media and started building our mailing list before we came back to it. There may still be a few places where the old wording persists, so we’ve got to be careful to weed those out.

GvP: Yikes! Yes, it’s a good thing you changed the name. We’ll make sure to get the name right here on Games vs Play! Um … moving onto something less controversial, could you tell us how many people does it actually take to make a tactical miniatures game?

Chris: Quite a few! I’m both writer and games designer, but that can only really produce half a rulebook by itself. My publisher, Word Forge Games in the UK, will produce the minis, cards etc. and distribute them internationally. They are also on top of the graphic design for elements like the cards and rules. Then there’s the 3D designer, Hao Dinh, who produced all our 3D files. Then there’s the playtest team and a whole heap of artists. It’s incredible the reach that online services provide us as well – I’m in Canberra, Australia along with most of my playtesters, but the publisher is in the UK, the designer in the US, artists are from the US, UK, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, France, and there are others in places like Indonesia and Japan helping with other elements. It’s truly a creation of the internet age!

GvP: How did you get into tabletop games originally?

Chris: I have always enjoyed board games, and I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family that played them a lot. My particular favourites were big-format wargames: Axis and Allies, Risk, that sort of thing. When I went to high school I managed to completely nerd out and join up with a group of friends who were into tabletop wargaming, and that was where I truly got started.

Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 was the first, closely followed by Target Games’ Warzone. I played both through my high school years, and even dabbled in some design at that age. I created a token-based Eureka Stockade game and another with plastic bugs, both with rather simplistic rules. But it was a start, and look where that attitude has taken me!

GvP: What are some other games you like or admire, and why?

Chris: I loved the original Warzone, particularly with its alternating activation system and the freedom that choosing actions gave you. There were certainly some quirks with the game, but it was a really effective mechanic. The modern version (Warzone: Resurrection) is similarly great fun, and the added resource pool mechanic is fantastic. Making decisions about where to put those resources is a critical part of the game: do I increase the rate of fire on this model as he fires at the high-priority target, or do I use it to activate a special ability to keep my other soldiers safer? That’s where the real tactics come into the game, and you’re not just hostage to the dice rolls. I also enjoy Flames of War, Team Yankee and Star Wars: Armada. Unfortunately, designing this game and being a father to two toddlers means that I don’t really get time to play anything outside of AD lately!

GvP: What tips on game design have you learnt from the experience of working on Absolute Decimation?

Chris: This game looks almost nothing like it did at the start of my design process. Initially the orders mechanic was a simple selection of maybe five different orders, and then they were sent to each unit before the turn started. However, a lot of what I call ‘exploratory’ playtesting combined with the guidance from the fluff turned it into a more ‘programming’-based experience. Knowing what to hold on to and what to let go from your initial concept to the final product is really important. I was fortunate enough to have a great group of playtesters who gave both feedback and advice on how to improve the game all the way through, and in no small part this game is a product of their imaginations as much as my own. The other thing is to maintain an idea of what you want the game to be like as a play experience. There was a culminating moment in the initial playtesting where I stopped intently dismantling the game while I was playing and instead just enjoyed playing. Since that point, there have been more changes to the game, but at all times it has remained an enjoyable play experience.

GvP: And finally, when will the game be available?

Chris: Our aim is to bring it to Kickstarter in Q2 this year, aiming for mid-May. Of course, in any project there’s the risk that dates will change. We were hoping originally to bring it out at the end of March, but another Kickstarter for the Devil’s Run RPG (a Word Forge Games licensed product from Red Scar Publishing) was already planned during that period. We thought it best if the attention of their prior customers wasn’t being pulled in two directions at the same time.

If people are interested in seeing more information about the game (the miniatures, the backstory and the gameplay), they can sign up to our mailing list – it’s very important to include the word ‘game’ or you’ll get a very different website!). This will be our primary means of communication for people who are interested, and we will be sending out pre-campaign updates on AD‘s development. They can also head on over to our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter (@ADWargame) or email me directly.

Games vs Play would like to thank Word Forge Games and Chris Reynolds for permission to use images of the Absolute Decimation game appearing in this post. You can check out more of Hao Dinh’s fantastic graphics and artwork at his website. To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like us on Facebook. And remember – if you’re game, we’ll play!

]]>http://gamesvsplay.com/absolute-decimation/feed/05 minutes with Kerrin Addis, founder of OzBunnyConhttp://gamesvsplay.com/5-minutes-with-kerrin-addis-founder-of-ozbunnycon/
http://gamesvsplay.com/5-minutes-with-kerrin-addis-founder-of-ozbunnycon/#commentsWed, 29 Mar 2017 00:12:08 +0000http://gamesvsplay.com/?p=1611It’s nearly Easter again, and in Melbourne, Australia, that means it’s time for OzBunnyCon. The origins of this annual event have long been lost in the mists of time. Ancient pagan rituals, Freemason initiation ceremonies and MK-Ultra mind control conspiracies have all been put forward, only to be discredited one by one.

So this year Games vs Play decided to get to the bottom of the mystery once and for all! To discover the truth we caught up with Kerrin Addis, the convention’s lead organiser and founder (pictured left). Kerrin told us how OzBunnyCon began, why it’s so much fun and, most importantly, how you can attend.

Games vs Play: Thanks for talking with Games vs Play, Kerrin. Maybe we could start by asking what can people when they attend the OzBunnyCon boardgame convention?

Kerrin Addis: Four days of open gaming in a family friendly environment. For some, a chance to play all the board games you have bought but haven’t been able to get to the table. For others, playing favourites, catching up with friends and making new friends. Everyone seems to have a different reason but what we all have in common is we want to play board games.

GvP: Running a convention seems like a big job. Why did you decide to start your own boardgames convention?

Kerrin: I love going to boardgame conventions. The longer the event the better. The people you meet make it a wonderful experience. During 2010 – 2014 I travelled to USA to attend World Boardgaming Championships (7 day event), Gen Con (5 day event), EuroQuest (4 day event), BGG Con (5 day event), Dice Tower Con (5 day event) KublaCon (3 day event) Pacificon (3 day event). In Australia I attended CanCon (3 day event), BorderCon (3 days, now 4 days) ConCentric (2.5 days), MeepleCon (2.5 days). In 2014 when I stopped travelling to USA (budget reasons), one of my American playing buddies said, “Why don’t you just run your own?” I thought, “Why not?” And here we are.

GvP: What’s been the hardest thing about running a games convention? Can you tell us any stories about something that happened that was unexpected?

Kerrin: The hardest thing is finding the right venue for the right price. Everything is so expensive in Australia. In the USA most cons run in a hotel. I spoke with a lot of function centres/hotels in Melbourne and everything starts at $5000 a day! Plus security (which we don’t need). Last year I teamed up with Melbourne Meeples Inc. who run MeepleCon and NSEG. You get better hire rates from council properties if you are incorporated or not-for-profit. We can also share admin/knowledge and convention tips and tricks.

GvP: How many people does it take to run a convention?

Kerrin: Ha ha ha, sounds like the beginning of a joke. Wish I could think of a good punchline … I do have a background in putting on events. Decades ago I used to run New Year’s Eve parties and other social events, so I knew what had to be done. OzBunnyCon is just me with some support on the days getting stuff to and from the venue, setting up and packing up. This is done by the attendees and every year I try to reduce the amount of work required as I want people to play games and have fun. I don’t really want to have a roster even though people are willing to help. I have tried to make OzBunnyCon self running and this year I think I have done it. Ask me after the event if it worked!

GvP: You’re clearly very passionate about boardgames. How did you first get into playing games yourself?

Kerrin: Loved boardgames as a kid. Played a lot of card games, Careers, Squatter and Cluedo (found Monolopy tiring). In 2006 I moved to USA to work and live in Silicon Valley. Being new in town I was looking for social activities to join. Found meetup.com and an event that was just around the corner playing a game called Settlers of Catan. I had never heard of it. Loved it and asked if there were any similar groups. There were many. The following weekend I went to an event at a library. Around 80 people there. Walked up to a table that were setting up a game and asked if I could join. They said yes. That game was Power Grid. When I got home, I told my friends “I found my tribe today”. It has been that way ever since. I think that is why I love conventions. I feel at home.

GvP: What are some of your favourite games at the moment, and why? Do you have any all-time favourite games?

Kerrin: Anyone who knows me, knows the answer to this question. Agricola, Agricola, Agricola. The most recent game that I can’t stop thinking about is TheColonists and can’t wait to find some other fans of the game to go on the epic journey with me. I avoid all games with direct conflict, bluffing, zombies and a few other things. I like games where you build/create something and get a sense of achievement even if you don’t have the highest score.

GvP: What are some tips you would give to people wanting to start their own conventions?

Kerrin: I get asked this a lot! Get a good ticketing system. I recommend trybooking.com. Find an affordable venue. Then get the word out.

GvP: And finally, what’s next for you?

Kerrin: Find people who will play The Colonists Era 1,2,3,4 is one sitting. Not sure it is even achievable but if you are interested, please contact me

Games vs Play would like to thank Kerrin Addis for permission to use images appearing in this post. OzBunnyCon 2017 will run in Melbourne over the Easter long weekend from Friday 14 – Monday 17 April at the Mount Waverley Youth Centre (pictured left). Click here to buy tickets, or go to the OzBunnyCon website for more details.

To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like us on Facebook. And remember – if you’re game, we’ll play!

I write both novels and interactive novels. Other people find interactive fiction via the gaming community, so there are usually elements of gameplay, e.g. skill bonuses that are tested later in the game. You can “read” an interactive “book” or “play” an interactive “game”. I use the terms interchangeably.

Within interactive fiction, there are two main forms: Choice-based interactive fiction (the reader makes choices from set options) and Parser interactive fiction (the reader types commands to move the story forward and/or solve puzzles). I’m strictly on the choice-based side, which is definitely more accessible for newbies. The list below will make it immediately obvious that I was drawn to interactive fiction via Choice of Games. It’s not a bad place to start. This is what games always look like on the inside:

You pick one of the options, and click next. Easy!

Interactive fiction is almost always digital (the obvious exceptions areChoose Your Own Adventure novels, and the Windhammer Prize), and almost always released as a phone app on the iTunes and Android stores (and more, for Choice of Games).

If you’re curious about interactive fiction (IF), here are some good places to start learning more:

To learn by playing

Interactive Fiction Data Base.This link takes you directly to my page, which has links to all of my games. My games are usually accessible to newbies, since I am one myself. There are a LOT of games and reviews on IFDB, and you can find lists such as “Games for new players” to sort through the mountain of stories.

The Interactive Fiction Compis hugely popular, and all the games are free to play. Judging season is in October and the first half of November each year. Usually about half the games are Parser games. Some games are a lot easier to download than others, so if you get stuck just move on.

Birdland came fourth in the IF Comp 2015, and is a funny game using Twine. Free.

Choice of Games (CoG) is an extremely successful company with a clear in-house style.

Community College Hero is an excellent teen superhero CoG story (Pt 1). It’s not an official CoG game, but is released through their Hosted Games label.

Creatures Such as We has a more literary style than most CoG games. It’s also free, and placed second the IF Comp in 2014.

My own CoG Hosted Games (I’m not associated or affiliated with CoG in any way) are the Australian steampunk adventure Attack of the Clockwork Army, the piratical romp Scarlet Sails, which placed 7th in the IF Comp 2015 (this version was improved after the competition which is why it’s not free like the original version). I also wrote and edited for the retro scifi comedy Starship Adventures, which has a bunch of behind-the-scenes special features.

Cape is a beautifully written superhero origin story, where you can add detail by choice. It’s a hypertext story, meaning that you click on bolded words rather than choosing choices from a list. It placed fifth in the 2015 IF Comp, and is free.

Be aware that the IF community is a small, welcoming, diverse, and kind group. Don’t be a troll. Don’t write when someone has made you feel angry, especially if it is a reviewer who is adding to the community with their comments and not getting paid for it. Embrace different genders, sexualities, abilities, and nationalities. The Interactive Fiction Forum is very lively during IF Comp season in October and November.

To learn by writing

Twine is certainly the easiest. It actually automatically builds an adjustable map for you. It takes about thirty seconds to learn, or ten minutes on your own. An excellent book on Twine and writing, pitched for beginners to both is Melissa Ford’s Writing Interactive Fiction with Twine. There are LOTS of online resources, including lists here and here about finding the authoring tool that works for you. You certainly don’t need to be a computer programmer!

To get paid

Choice of Games pays advances of up to $10,000 for novel-length stories based on an approved outline and written with their tool, ChoiceScript. I know from personal experience that a story written for their less-exclusive “Hosted Games” label earns a respectable amount purely through royalties. Mine have earned around $1000 each, but there are no guarantees – and no limits!

Contests pay a little (often not in money) but are hugely important to the community and to gaming companies, who sometimes even approach entrants to offer paid work. All the contests are publicly reviewed and judged, which is an intense emotional experience for any writer. Don’t ever interact with reviewers until after the competition is finished. And even then, always thank them regardless of what they said—every review is a precious gift, and the harsh ones are often the most useful. Your stories must not be published, and they must be publicly available after the contest for free. Although the judging is public, they are NOT popularity contests, but based on judges being as neutral as possible in their ratings.

IF Comp is the biggest and best, but it’s NOT for beginners. Reviewers can be harsh in order to be more entertaining, or due to assuming you’re trolling the contest.

Windhammer is printable (and short, and Australian) and high-status. First prize is $300, within runner-up prizes of $50. Not bad for a short story that doesn’t require learning a new tool! I won the Windhammer Prize in 2015, and my publisher Odyssey Books included that story with my novel, Heart of Brass.

Spring Thing(called the Fall Fooferal if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) is particularly welcoming to newbies, including a “Back Garden” where you can indicate that you’re new and reviewers should take that into account. It’s deliberately placed in a part of the year when the IF Comp is far away.

Felicity Banks is an Australian writer of young adult adventure fantasy and steampunk books, including interactive fiction. Her debut novel, Heart of Brass, is the beginning of the Antipodean Queen series and is available in print and digital formats. Her interactive fiction is all listed at ifdb.tads.org under “Felicity Banks“. An earlier version of this story first appeared on Felicity’s blog, which you can readhere.

Games vs Playwould like to acknowledge Choice of Games as the owner of the screen capture image from Scarlet Sails. All other images appear courtesy of Felicity Banks. To find out more about the latest reviews, stories and other cool things in the world of games, like us on Facebook. And remember – if you’re game, we’ll play!